$25,000 will fund grants to child care providers

$25,000 will fund grants to child care providers

Hutchinson Community Foundation recently awarded a $25,000 strategic grant from the Helen Adams Hamilton Fund for Children to Child Care Links that will support a grant program aimed at helping sustain local child care providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The initiative stems from a partnership between Child Care Links, the Reno County Child Care Coalition, United Way of Reno County and the community foundation. Knowing that providers have been acutely affected by the pandemic shutdown and that economic recovery won’t happen without quality child care, an industry upon which all other industries depend, the partnership has worked together to determine that the most pressing need for local providers is working capital.

Child Care Links will use up to $2,500 of the grant to support administrative costs, ongoing technical assistance to providers and the restart of the Reno County Child Care Coalition. The remaining $22,500 will be available for mini-grants to the approximately 70 family or group child care homes and private centers in Reno County.

Grant requests should be limited to $1,000, and applications should be mailed to Child Care Links, 21 W. 2nd Ave., Hutchinson, KS 67501, by July 1. Awards will be announced July 31. For more information on guidelines and to receive an application, contact Child Care Links at (620) 669-0291 or childcarelinks@sbcglobal.net.